Among Many
by Azure Dragon92
Summary: Jenae is a girl of Muggle descent, who finds out she is a witch and is sent to Hogwarts. Now, with two very different friends to surround her, there may well be a mystery to solve...


**Among Many by AzureDragon92**

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own any of the character, places, ideals, or situations in Harry Potter. I just play with them. _

**Chapter One**

"Batton, Jenae." The name rang out across the Great Hall, and a small girl stepped forward nervously.

Petite for her age of eleven, she had raven hair that fell around her face, down to her elbows, and chocolate colored eyes.

She eyed the three-legged stool on which she was supposed to sit, and mounted the steps.

It seemed to take forever for her to reach the top of the stairs, even though there were only four of them. She knew the whole hall was watching her, with their eyes piercing her back.

Finally, the stool was in front of her. Cautiously, she turned and sat firmly on it, her fingers gripping the sides of the circular top so hard her knuckles were white.

As the hat descended onto her head, she gritted her teeth, and cleared her mind as best she could. It was the hat's job to probe her mind for her best quality, but with the probing and the entire hall watching her, she was beginning not to like this business.

She could hear the hat's voice echoing inside her head, "I wonder...yes, the cunning, but the sneakiness. The yearning to break the rules, eh? Not long ago I saw the same resolve in four others...but all the same...RAVENCLAW!" It shouted the last word for the whole hall to hear. A roar of applause went up from the Ravenclaw table, and she trotted of to sit at an empty place.

Professor McGonagall called the next name down the list, and the next, and the next, until at last she came to one, "Morgan, Lydia."

A girl about Jenae's own size and weight, with dark brown hair and mischievous looking eyes went up the stairs. She showed no hint of being nervous, but rather she had a glint in her eye, and gave the Hall a look that said, 'Here I come' quite plainly.

In spite of herself, Jenae grinned, and watched as the girl eagerly pushed the hat over her ears, grinning broadly. A few seconds later, the hat shouted, not unlike it had with Jenae, "RAVENCLAW!"

The girl called Lydia positively bounced back down the stairs and soon she was making her way along Jenae's side of the Ravenclaw table.

"Mind if I join you?" Lydia asked, and plopped down on the bench next to Jenae without waiting for an answer.

Not daring to talk until the sorting was over, Jenae and Lydia watched as another girl was sitting on the stool. This "Pratt, Celestine," was about a foot taller than either of the other two and was nicely built. Her face was troubled though, it seemed. Her golden hair was cropped at her shoulder, and her green eyes were the of the sort that drew you in.

Another few seconds later, the hat, yet again, shouted, "RAVENCLAW," and the girl, looking quite pleased with herself, came toward the table with calm enthusiasm. It was not long before Jenae and Lydia had another companion.

The feast began in earnest a few moments later, after a burly looking boy named "Wood, Oliver" had been put in Gryffindor.

It did not take Lydia long to strike up conversation.

"Heylo! I'm Lydia, but please don't call me that. Hate the name...but please, it's Lyd." She grinned again, and the mischievous twinkle was back in her eye. Jenae laughed.

"I'm Jenae. I actually do like my name, but it's too...formal. It's Jena or just plain Jen, if you will." Jenae grinned, and Lyd grinned wider, before they both looked at Celestine expectantly. The latter, who had been watching the other two over her plate, which was loaded with food, started and looked apologetic.

"Ooh, sorry. It's Cele. Well, actually, it's Celestine, but I think it's too long, so...It's Cele."

"Well, nice to meet all of you, and since I haven't met anyone else...I guess we're friends!" said Lyd enthusiastically, loading her plate with food of all different types, colors, and sizes.

Jen and Cele grinned, and they all looked rather pleased with themselves.

Lydia, once again, broke the silence mere seconds later with a question, through a mouth full of food. "So...don't hate me for asking this, but...How's your blood?"

Jen looked puzzled, but Cele told her, "She means, are you a half-witch, muggle-born, or pureblood?" Then she added to Lyd, "My mum's a muggle, but dad's a wizard. So I guess that makes me half...what about you?"

"Oh, I'm a stinking pureblood," Lyd said with distaste, "but I hate it. My whole fudging family's evil, on the side of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, you know. But I'm not. I don't know how they think, but...My sister, Noraleen, is five, and I've already got her turned against evil." she grinned broadly, and took some more chicken.

Jenae looked a little shaken by this notion, but she nodded anyway, and added, "I guess I have to be the spoilsport then. I'm muggle-born, I guess, because no one in my family's been magic except me. I have a little brother, though (He's about nine, by the way) can already do odd stuff like I did two years ago. I think he's a wizard." Then, realizing she hadn't eaten yet, she pulled one of the chicken legs from the bottom of the stack and bit into it.

"You got any siblings, C?"

Cele looked repulsed, "C?"

Lyd grinned, "Just answer the question."

"No, it's just me. I don't mind though. I've had friends before (Muggles) that had brothers and sisters, and I couldn't stand them," Cele said, and looked at the other two girls sympathetically.

"Lucky, innit she?" Lyd said, before polishing off her last glass of pumpkin juice. Jen nodded in agreement; her mouth was full of food just then.

Almost as soon as they had filled, the plates emptied, and a wide array of puddings and cakes and pies took it's place. Jen's eyes widened and immediately started to pile all sorts of things onto her now clean platter.

"Did the hat say something to you about 'seeing the same resolve in four others no so long ago'?" Cele asked, and her tone of voice suggested that she was dying to know.

"Now you mention it, yeah, it did!" Jen said, and looked puzzled.

"Me too," Lyd chimed in, "Wonder who they were..."

Shrugging, Jen pushed the question aside.

"We could always ask one of the teachers..." Cele said thoughtfully, glancing up at the staff table. Jen followed her gaze, and took in the proud and stern faces of the odd assortment of teachers. There was a small, fragile looking man who was missing a leg and an assortment of fingers. Next to him was a tall witch dressed in robes of deep purple. She looked quite young yet, and her blackened gaze was piercing. To the left of her was a short witch with a dusty hat on, as if it was covered in earth.

Next to the short witch, and right of a large throne-like chair, was a stout man, sort of middle-sized, with a round face. Then, in the center of the table in the throne-like chair, sat a wizened, elderly man, with long white hair and beard. He was glancing around the Hall calmly. Jen guessed this had to be the Headmaster.

To the left of him was a stern looking witch, with her hair pulled back in a tight bun, and square spectacles.

Next to the stern-faced woman, a pearly white, transparent figure floated above his seat. To put it quite plain, he looked...boring. _'And stoned,'_ Jen thought, and grinned. Next to the 'stoned ghost' (as Jen called him) a tiny little man sat. His hair was white, and that was about all that was visible above the tabletop. Giggling, Jen's eyes passed over the funny little man and unto a average-sized woman. She had blonde hair that reached down her back, and grey eyes, like a stormy day. She was chatting with another woman at her side, who resembled a locust. Her spectacles were about three times too big for her face, and she wore an assortment of odd bangles.

The man next to her was tall and solemn looking. He was dressed all in black, and had a cold, dark gaze. The picture of a vampire was completed by his pale skin and abnormally large nose.

Shuddering, the three girls looked back down at their plates. But just then, the puddings and cakes and pies disappeared. Lyd let out a groan of exasperation.

"I loved that pudding, too," she whined. Jen grinned at her friend, and it was then that she discovered Lyd's affinity for eating, soon to be coupled with sleeping and trouble making, but that all comes later.

Cele put a finger to her lips and gestured toward the staff table, where the elderly man with the long white hair and beard was standing.

Professor Dumbledore looked around at his pupils warmly. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts, young and old. We are happy to have you back. Now, for that old, nagging thing of announcing and speech-making."

Jen, Lyd, and Cele marveled at his ability to hold everyone in the room's attention at once, and his air of superiority was overwhelming. So was the wonder of the Greatest Wizard Of All Time, Order of Merlin First Class, Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot, and a lot of other things, Albus Dumbledore.

"As for notices," The good Professor continued, "The Dark Forest is forbidden to all students, as is the west side of the 6th floor corridor. As for Arithmancy classes, they will be held on the ground floor, in the largest of the unused classrooms. Professor Vector has kindly agreed to this," he nodded in acknowledgement to the round-faced wizard, and continued, "And, as always, the additions and alterations of the staff. I am pleased to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Ms. D. Moonshower."

There was a round of applause, mostly from the male population of the school, and Professor Moonshower stood up. She was the witch next to the locust impersonator, with the blonde hair and the grey eyes. And, Jen noted, Defense Against the Dark Arts sounded like an interesting subject.

"And also," Professor Dumbledore continued, once Professor Moonshower had sat down, "Our new Potions Master, Professor S. Snape." Much of the applause came from the Slytherin table, Jen saw, and Professor Snape only stood for about four seconds before hurriedly sitting back down.

"Now, bed, I think. I wish you all a good day for classes, and you will find your beds to be warm and comforting."

And then people were moving all around them. The whole hall was buzzing with life. The prefects (she assumed that was what they were called; no one had told her) were yelling out for the first years to follow them. Lyd seemed to be shaken out of a stupor, and started.

"Well, that was brief..." she said, with her usual humor. Cele looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I wonder what classes are going to be like..." she said, before getting up from the bench and followed the long line of people.

"I do believe we've found our bookworm..." Lyd commented before going to follow the female prefect to the Ravenclaw common room. Jen shrugged, and followed.

**Afterthoughts**

_So...Do you like? _

_Feedback, please _

_Oh, and FYI, Cele is pronounced as Kelly would be, just because she likes it that way. _

_Cele: Darn Straight! Fear me and my bookwormyness!_

_Lyd: Oh, shuddup_

_Jen: (shrug) I give up..._

_See you soon!_


End file.
